Season preview: Ducks' Getzlaf gets A as 'C'

Oct. 5, 2011

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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A former captain while a player at Winnipeg and Pittsburgh, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, right, understands what is expected of Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, left. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf was made the eighth captain in the team's 17-year history at the beginning of last season. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf, left, played a key part in teammate Corey Perry's, right, breakout season. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Ducks coach Randy Carlyle says when your a captain “the (public relations) department is always calling. The media wants more. There's more that's asked of you." Getzlaf is shown here working the crowd during public function last month. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Anaheim Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf (15) battles for position with the Nashville Predators' Shane O'Brien (55) during the third period of their round one, game one, Western Conference quarterfinal game at Honda Center in April. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf is pursued by the Kings' Scott Parse during a preseason game last month. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Anaheim Ducks' Corey Perry (10), left, and Ryan Getzlaf (15) slap hands after their 2-1 win over the Kings last season. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf, left, and Bobby Ryan sign autographs as they work the team store before a preseason game last month. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A former captain while a player at Winnipeg and Pittsburgh, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, right, understands what is expected of Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, left.ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The letter might be have been passed from one to the other over the course of a few months a summer ago but the seeds were planted some time before that.

It was four years ago when a 21-year-old Ryan Getzlaf sat on a stage at Honda Center with Scott Niedermayer, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle and then-general manager Brian Burke as he discussed the state of the franchise.

Niedermayer was the club's unquestioned captain since coming to Anaheim while Getzlaf had all of 108 NHL games under his belt. Surely, it seemed like a setting where the big center would be full of jitters.

Or not.

"I wasn't nervous," Getzlaf said, recalling the moment. "I was little surprised when Burkie asked me to do it. First of all, I had no idea what it was -- just the overall state of the union or whatever. I was kind of like, 'OK, I don't really know what I'm going to say.'

"But it was fun. It was nice to be part of something like that and knowing they wanted me to be a big part of this organization."

Years later, the sublime playmaker has followed the defenseman into the role once destined for him as he'll start his second season as their captain on Friday when the Ducks open the 2011-12 NHL season overseas against the Buffalo Sabres in Helsinki, Finland.

Before last season, Getzlaf was made the eighth captain in the team's 17-year history after Niedermayer announced his retirement early in the summer of 2010. It is something that still resonates with him as he enters his second season as the Ducks' leader.

"To have that support staff that I'm able to have as a young captain, it's been great for me," he said. "It means a lot that my peers thought that highly of me."

While there was no question that Niedermayer would assume the captaincy upon his signing with the Ducks, Carlyle took the different approach of leaving a vote to the players.

Having served as a captain with Pittsburgh and Winnipeg during his playing days, Carlyle speaks from experience and said that wearing the 'C' was a burden earlier in his career. It is why he wanted to make sure Getzlaf was surrounded by a support system.

"It's a learning process and if you don't experience it, then you don't know," Carlyle said. "You have to walk a mile in the man's shoes before you understand. Because there is more responsibility that takes place between the coaching staff and maybe even management. It stretches that far to ownership at times.

"The (public relations) department is always calling. The media wants more. There's more that's asked of you. So you've got to make sure that you're prepared to give what you feel you can give. If there's things you're not comfortable with, then you've got to have other people step to the forefront and help you."

After the Ducks were eliminated from the playoffs, Getzlaf admitted that he should have sought out Niedermayer more for advice than he did. But he did seek out Koivu, who saw him grow as a leader.

"Obviously early in the season, the way we played doesn't make it easier for a new captain," said Koivu, who was captain in Montreal for nearly 10 seasons. "That's when everybody kind of measures you. When the team is winning, he's doing a great job. When the team is losing, then all is wrong. And that's not the case.

"But I felt that he didn't have any bumps in the road. He was confident. He was secure about himself as a captain."

The Ducks have had big visions for Getzlaf ever since they took him with the 19th pick in the celebrated 2003 draft and then grabbed his bookend in Corey Perry nine picks later.

In turn, Getzlaf has put up points throughout his six-year career with a high water mark of 91 in 2008-09. He's also coming off consecutive seasons in which he's missed 15 and 16 games respectively, which have held his numbers down.

And now the Saskatchewan native has a running mate in Perry that won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player, something many figured Getzlaf would possibly do first before his partner.

Genuinely happy for his teammate, Getzlaf played a key part in Perry's breakout season and was there in Las Vegas last June to celebrate the moment. The Ducks quietly wonder if that will serve as motivation for the center to take his turn and stretch his vast game to that level.

In response to whether he feels a Hart Trophy is in him, Getzlaf said he's "going to do everything I can every year to try and achieve something like that."

"There's always that competitiveness and me and Pears have always kind of had that amongst ourselves," he said. "It's helped drive us to where we are now. We've been able to kind of have that healthy thing but at the same time being happy for each other and helping each other achieve these things.

"I think it's definitely something that makes it more real. Like it's within reach."

In the meantime, Getzlaf is working on being a better leader. He has tried to tone down the once-rampant chatter with officials. He is also striking a balance between being "a guy who looked out for my teammates and everything that had to do with them" with conveying what his coach is demanding.

The big center knows he has large shoes to fill.

"Scotty stepped into this organization with respect from everybody," Getzlaf said. "You have to earn the respect of your players around you and your coaching staff, knowing that they can count on you for different things throughout the year.

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